Medical Biodiversity and Parasitology, Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Parasitol Res. 2012 Nov;111(5):1907-12. doi: 10.1007/s00436-012-3036-1. Epub 2012 Jul 20.
The Brazilian savannah-like area, the Cerrado region, covers large areas of the country and provides a habitat for a multitude of different animal species. The giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is geographically widespread and one of the typical inhabitants of the Cerrado. They are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. A population loss of at least 30 % over the past 10 years has been estimated based on local extinctions, habitat loss and deaths caused by fires, roadkills and hunting. Little is known about ecological and in particular parasitic conditions of this highly specialised insectivore species. During September and November 2010 we examined three roadkilled giant anteater for the presence of metazoan ecto- and endoparasites. Besides the cestode species Oochoristica tetragonocephala and the tick species Amblyomma nodosum, we found for the first time the flea Tunga penetrans. Beside morphological flea species identification, we compared a fragment of the 16S rRNA gene of eggs, a molecular method utilised for the first time in this combination. The identification of T. penetrans in M. tridactyla represents a new host record and expands the host and distribution range of the zoonotic flea species.
巴西稀树草原似的塞拉多地区覆盖了该国的大片区域，为众多不同的动物物种提供了栖息地。巨食蚁兽（Myrmecophaga tridactyla）分布广泛，是塞拉多地区的典型居民之一。它们被国际自然保护联盟列为易危物种。根据当地灭绝、栖息地丧失以及火灾、车祸和狩猎造成的死亡情况，估计在过去 10 年中，其数量减少了至少 30%。关于这种高度特化的食虫物种的生态，特别是寄生虫状况，人们知之甚少。2010 年 9 月至 11 月，我们检查了三具车祸致死的巨食蚁兽，以确定是否存在后生动物外寄生虫和内寄生虫。除了带绦虫科的 Oochoristica tetragonocephala 和蜱科的 Amblyomma nodosum 外，我们还首次发现了潜蚤 Tunga penetrans。除了形态学跳蚤物种鉴定外，我们还比较了卵的 16S rRNA 基因片段，这是该组合中首次使用的分子方法。潜蚤在巨食蚁兽中的发现代表了一个新的宿主记录，并扩大了这种人畜共患病跳蚤物种的宿主和分布范围。
